This downward trend confirms that inflation in the euro zone is approaching the 2% objective pursued by the ECB and brings closer the first reduction in interest rates, which the market already places with high probability at the June meeting.
Eurozone inflation moderated two tenths in March, to 2.4%, the same decrease as that observed in the European Union as a whole, which closed the month with a rate of 2.6%, according to the community office statistics, Eurostat.
The statistical department thus confirms its preliminary calculations for the annual inflation rate of the euro zone for last month, in which the underlyingwhich excludes energy, food and tobacco and is the reference for the European Central Bank (ECB), also fell two tenths, to 2.9%.
The eurozone has thus had three months of declines in its average inflation rate since it experienced a rise of five tenths in December 2023, rising to 2.9%. Since then, the price increase was 2.8% in January, 2.6% in February and 2.4% in March.
This downward trend confirms that the Eurozone inflation nears 2% target pursued by the ECB with its restrictive monetary policy and the first drop in interest rates is approachingwhich the market already places with high probability in the June meeting.
Currently, the bank headed by Frenchwoman Christine Lagarde maintains the price of money at 4.50%, its highest level since 2001, after raising it ten times between July 2022 and September 2023 in a range of 0.25 and 0.75 points.
Inflation by categories
The detail of the Eurostat data for March shows that the highest inflation by category was that of serviceswith a rate of 4%, which is identical to what it has experienced since November of last year.
After the services were the processed foods, alcohol and tobacco (with a rate of 3.5%, which represents a decrease of one percentage point compared to February) and non-energy industrial goods (1.1% compared to 1.6% in February).
On the other hand, the price of Energy continued with its negative rates in Marchthis time 1.8% compared to the 3.7% decrease observed in February.
By country, the highest inflation last month was that of Romania (6.7%), followed by Croatia (4.9%), Estonia and Austria (4.1%), Belgium (3.8%), Hungary ( 3.6%), Greece and Slovenia (3.4%), Spain (3.3%), Luxembourg (3.2%), Bulgaria and the Netherlands (3.1%) and Malta, Poland and Slovakia (2 .7%).
Portugal’s rate was at the EU average (2.6%), and below it were France (2.4%), Germany and Sweden (2.3%), the Czech Republic (2.2%). , Ireland (1.7%), Cyprus (1.6%), Italy (1.2%), Latvia (1%), Denmark (0.8%), Finland (0.6%) and Lithuania (0 ,4 %).
Source: Eitb
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